1. Field of the Invention
The invention is generally related to musical instruments and, more particularly, to an apparatus for achieving semitones (i.e., "flats" and "sharps", sometimes referred to as "accidentals") on a folk harp using foot pedals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Concert harps are very expensive, cumbersome, and complex instruments that include approximately 2400 moving parts which allow harpists to achieve accidentals by the use of foot pedals. This allows the harpist to achieve sharps and flats without taking his or her fingers off the strings.
Folk harps are generally defined as harps which are not concert harps. Folk harps can achieve accidentals only by interruption of the harpist's left hand playing by using the left hand to engage various types of levers which are typically mounted on the neck of the harp. Some types of Paraguayan folk harps allow the harpist to achieve an accidental by pressing the index finger of the left hand against a string which is situated slightly in front of a dowel-like projection, called a "tacito", which, in effect, shortens the object string, and thereby allows the right hand to pluck the accidental. In these types of folk harps, the tacitos are glued into the soundboard, such that their original placement must be precise in order to achieve the precise semitone.